Warren police say Rakim Wright died by suicide after chase; 911 call

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Warren, MI - Warren police held a defiant press conference to address what they claim are “false media narratives” Thursday morning, where they released the 911 call, plus dashcam video, from the chase that ended in Detroit nearly 30 minutes later with Wright dead in his mother’s backyard.

“We felt that given the narratives being circulated in the media that are so grossly incorrect that it was of the essence to get this press conference done today,” Lt. John Gajewski said.

The woman on the phone frantically called Warren police on Wright, saying that he had assaulted her, brandished a weapon, and was attempting to set their home on the 13000 block of Prospect Avenue around 2:55 a.m. on Tuesday (July 8).

“Me and my daughter were fighting to get him off of me,” the woman said to police in a video released Thursday.

The video cuts to show Warren police confronting Wright at 6 Mile Road and Van Dyke Avenue in Detroit before leading the frantic chase.

When asked about crossing into the city, Warren Police say they alerted Detroit police within seconds of the chase starting.

“It’s typically common courtesy for one agency, if they’re headed to another agency’s jurisdiction, to let them know,” Local 4’s Criminal Justice Expert Darnell Blackburn said. “Now, there are circumstances sometimes where if you’re chasing somebody, and you’re right and high pursuing that person, it may be a little difficult, but typically protocol is to let the other agency know that you’re coming into their municipality.”

The dashcam video later appears to show Wright firing at the officers during the chase, though no shots are heard on the video, and the gun is not visible.

Once the chase enters the neighborhood, Wright exits the car as gunshots ring out from officers.

Wright gets out of the car and starts running toward his mother’s home on Montelieu and Castle.

Seconds later, Wright appears to shoot himself in the head, falling to the ground, refuting what eyewitnesses in the neighborhood said, that Wright was shot by police gunfire.

You see a suspect with no regard for the larger safety of his children, the community, law enforcement, or even himself.

We also see the men and women of the Warren Police Department place themselves in harm’s way to prevent Mr. Wright from taking any more lives that day, including likely committing the ultimate act of domestic violence.

Wright had previous arrests on his record, including assault with a dangerous weapon, malicious destruction of property, and felony weapons charges.